Finance Ministry: 1400 Employees Registered in the 'Yabous' App During the Trial Phase

SadaNews - The project manager of the 'Yabous' app at the Ministry of Finance, Murad Amro, stated that the app was launched in its trial phase last Sunday, targeting four government institutions in the first phase: the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, the Jerusalem Governorate, the Customs Authority, and the Civil Defense. The number of employees included in this phase is approximately 2800.

Amro explained in an interview with the official agency that the trial phase will extend from one week to two weeks, mentioning that since the launch of the app, around 1400 employees have registered, which is nearly half of the targeted employees, while the number of app downloads has reached about 14,000 so far.

He added that the first phase focused on making the app available to users, completing the registration processes, and providing technical support to beneficiaries, before starting to load balances, followed by a gradual expansion to include all government sector employees.

He pointed out that the ministry has signed agreements with 15 private sector companies that provide basic services, distributed across three sectors: electricity, water, and communications and internet, explaining that the app currently allows employees to pay electricity, water, communications, and internet bills.

He added that work is ongoing to expand the scope of services in the next phase to include municipal services and government services, in addition to cooperating with other private sectors and companies, affirming that these are the planned services to be added in the near future.

Amro indicated that employees will not incur any commission when using the app.

Regarding the limits of benefits, he clarified that the maximum amount for the electricity sector is 250 shekels, for the water sector 100 shekels, while the limit for communications and internet services is 350 shekels, including 50 shekels designated for the prepaid service, as announced by the finance minister.

He explained that in the electricity and water sectors, employees can pay bills using the subscription number, without it being mandatory for the bill to be linked to their ID number, while the app allows in the communications and internet sector to pay for the employee themselves or for their first degree relatives, namely parents and children.

He noted that the app includes a set of security and precautionary measures to ensure safe usage, as registration is limited to government employees only, and registration can only be completed using a Palestinian phone number and through a Palestinian internet service provider. The app has undergone security assessments conducted by three companies, one international and two local, and it succeeded in all tests, in addition to adopting the Digital Financial Identity system (ID Plus) to verify the user's identity and prevent impersonation.

He added that the app is available to all government sector employees regardless of their location within Palestine, but the services currently available to Gaza sector employees are limited to communications and internet services at this stage.

Regarding the electricity service, Amro clarified that electronic charging requires the existence of a smart meter, pointing out that electricity companies have expressed readiness to convert old meters to smart meters for free for employees wishing to benefit from the service, while the majority of local authorities and municipalities in the water sector rely on the traditional billing system.

He confirmed that the ministry has dedicated a call center operating around the clock seven days a week via the toll-free number (171), to provide technical support and answer employees' inquiries during the trial phase, urging benefiting employees to contact the center when needed.

Regarding the amounts that will be deposited through the app, Amro explained that they will be from the employee's entitlements and not from their salary, as previously announced by the finance minister and the government spokesperson.